After nearly five years in business, the Red Mango smoothie and yogurt shop in downtown Oak Park has closed its doors.

Village Trustee Jim Taglia, who owned the business, said he closed Red Mango to focus his attention on his other professional duties.

“My main job is a chemical company, [Pro-Chem-Co Inc.,] a family business we have in northwest Indiana,” Taglia said. “This really was a business decision. Spending time [at Red Mango] was really taking away from my other work in a big way.”

According to Taglia, his commute to northwest Indiana takes about 90 minutes each way. The travel, combined with his current responsibilities as a village trustee, weighed heavily in making the decision.

“I’ve had to travel more than ever in the past six months,” Taglia said. “I felt I had to focus my efforts primarily on my family, my work and my role as a trustee of the village. It takes a lot of time. I was spread very thin, and I didn’t like that.”

First opened in 2013, Red Mango, 1044 W. Lake St., officially closed its doors at the end of business on Aug. 31.

Making the decision to close even more difficult, Taglia said, were his employees and the people he had gotten to know as a business owner in the community.

“I learned a lot and met a lot of great people in downtown Oak Park,” Taglia said. “I got to learn a lot through the process of opening and running a store. We employed a lot of young people. For many of them, it was their first job. I saw them grow and develop and, in many cases, blossom. I have nothing but good memories that went on there.”

Taglia previously served six years as a trustee on the Oak Park Township Board. He was appointed to the Oak Park Village Board in March 2017 by Mayor Anan Abu-Taleb to fulfill the term of former trustee Adam Salzman. Taglia’s term will expire in April 2019.